Washington/05.01.22/Turan: Washington on Wednesday expressed its concern about the adoption of a new media bill that critics say was designed to limit independent journalism in Azerbaijan, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.
“We are concerned that the Azerbaijani Parliament appeared to rush the process of sending the proposed media law to the Presidential Administration for ratification,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to TURAN’s request for comment.
"We hope that the Presidential Administration will carefully consider input from independent journalists, media experts, and international groups, including the OSCE, as it reviews the draft law", the spokesperson added. "We will continue to follow the issue closely."
The proposed law, which sets up a database for media organizations and requires journalists to be registered with the state, was adopted by the Azerbaijani Parliament on December 30, and is yet to be signed by the President. Local media and rights groups have said that the law could impose potentially wide-ranging restrictions on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.--0--
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
-
On January 21, as part of his participation in the Davos Economic Forum, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with the President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog.
-
On January 21, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz within the framework of the Davos Economic Forum.
-
On January 21, the Baku Serious Crimes Court continued the trial of the Abzas Media case. The court heard testimony from the director of the publication, Ulvi Hasanly, who rejected the charges against him. Hasanly stated that Abzas Media was engaged in investigations into corruption at the highest levels of government, covering societal issues, and defending citizens' rights. He believes that these activities provoked the authorities' anger towards the journalists.
-
It seems that the Kremlin's hopes that Donald Trump's return to power in the U.S. would be beneficial for Russia have not come to fruition. Upon returning to the White House, Donald Trump stated that he plans to meet with Putin soon. However, he also declared that Putin is "destroying Russia" by refusing to make peace and end the war in Ukraine.
Leave a review